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The
Development of Mesopotamia Page 5
Wrapping Up
Of course, it would be naïve to say that climate change,
irrigation, and expanded trade networks were the only ingredients
to the system that helped spawn civilization in Mesopotamia. The
systems theory can leave plenty unexplained, yet it seems to be
the most solid foundation for helping to explain other intricacies
of the civilization.
Many other forces such as warfare and religion played a key role
in the development of civilization, and one might argue that these
are not directly dealt with in the systems theory that I have
presented. True, they are not directly dealt with; however, because
the foundation of the system exists, forces such as warfare and
religion can easily and logically fit into the system. For example,
it has been argued that warfare over trade routes produced a larger
need for political means of protection and thus heavily affected
the growth of civilization. While this might be true, it is within
the main subsystem forces described that this can be founded.
In other words, if there were no routes, cities, land, or goods
to be protected, how could warfare be a means of attaining it?
Warfare is not a cause in and of itself but is rather a derivative
of the system.
If the systems theory has a drawback, it would be that it leaves
too much unexplained by just referencing other subsystems. This
apparent drawback, however, is the key to the theory's strength.
While other linear theories can be very explanatory, they do not
take into account the many forces that were evolving during the
development of civilization in Mesopotamia. The systems theory,
rooted in climate change, irrigation, and trade subsystems, has
room to grow and can allow for anthropologists to piece together
the every-growing puzzle that is the birth of civilization.
Works Cited
Fagan, Brian. People of the Earth: An Introduction to World PreHistory.
Prentice Hall. New Jersey: 2001.
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